Medicinal Tea

My cough has settled into my chest, enough that the receptionist at the Dr.’s office (who is also his wife) offered me their family prescription for healing – boil ginger root and green onions into a tea. “My kids used to hate it, but it does the job.” Given that the recipe was easy and the ingredients were already in the kitchen, we boiled up the tea. In fact I am on my second round – could be a placebo, but when the chest cough is deep, the warm water can’t be all that bad for me, even without the bite of the boil.

This medical practise is for those who like eastern and western medicine. Part of the eastern medicine becomes visible in a chart on the wall that identifies the healing points on the body for acupuncture. I go to see if it will help me get through the pain of morphine withdrawal. I don’t know if the acupuncture is working for that, but the arthritis in my hands feels immeasurably better.

Not an exact science Dr. Lam tells me. In fact, there is one spot that no one knows its purpose. Just that it works. I am open to trying anything.

... looking at Val Napoleon's oil painting ...
"Raven Visits Monet"

Every distraction is good, Catherine tells me. So – my job is to write down what distracts me. One thing is visits to Rebecca’a office. One wall is deep in books, two and three deep with titles that make the curious at least pull down the volumes to take a look. On the other wall hangs gifts: oil paintings, pottery, certificates, student projects, long marked and now waiting for a return to the owners – distraction on the walls and out the window – a distraction that rivals the acupuncture. I will miss going to the office this week while Rebecca is in Ottawa.

Arta